The present invention relates to a lid for a pail, and especially to a lid for a plastic pail. In particular, the present invention relates to a lid with an integral hinge, and to a pail with such a lid. The lid forms part of the pail and remains attached to the pail after opening. In embodiments, the lid may be placed on the pail in a variety of orientations i.e. the lid does not need to be placed on the pail in a specific orientation.
The expression xe2x80x9cpailxe2x80x9d has been used herein to include containers. The pails may have a variety of sizes, for example sizes in the range of from about 1 L to about 25 L.
Plastic pails are used in the packaging and transportation of a wide variety of materials, including foodstuffs, paints, chemicals, granular materials, dyes and the like. The pails are filled with the material and a lid is placed on the pail for transportation and sale, and retained there until opened for use. At the time of use, the lid of the pail is removed and must be placed somewhere while all or some of the contents of the pail are removed. Typically, the lid is placed on the floor near the pail, or on a near object. The lid, once removed, tends to become misplaced, contaminated, or even cause storage problems. Consequently, the lid may become a tripping hazard and/or be susceptible to contamination by dirt or other materials. If only some of the contents of the pail are removed, the dirty lid contaminates the remaining contents of the pail.
In some instances, the pails are of a construction that exhibits evidence of access to the contents of the pail, whether the access is intentional opening of the pail or tampering with the contents of the pail. Such pails are known as tamper-evident pails. These pails are constructed so that removal of the lid requires that a section of the pail be broken in order to remove the lid. This provides physical evidence to the consumer of the opening of or tampering with the pail.
Canadian Patent No. 2,019,225 describes a tamper-evident lid and container (pail) combination that shows physical evidence if the lid is removed. In particular, the lid has a peripheral skirt interconnected to a flange peripherally extending from the container to the lower edge of the skirt. The connections of the flange to the skirt are weak and, as such, break when the lid is removed. This provides evidence of opening of the pail.
Some containers have hinged lids to overcome these problems. For instance, a hinged lid is described in Japanese Patents Nos. 2000142758 and 2000142762. These patents describe a container having an outer lid with a coupling strap connected to both the lid and container,
Lids, and pails with lids, that are not potential tripping hazards and which are less susceptible to contamination would be desirable. It is preferred that such lids also have tamper-evident characteristics, without reducing the effectiveness of the lid for subsequent use.
It would also be an advantage to provide a hinged lid that would be less bulky than the coupling strap described in the above Japanese patents, especially with respect to storage and shipping of pails and lids prior to filling.
A hinged lid, and a pail having a hinged lid, have now been found, in which the hinge is incorporated into the lid, preferably showing evidence of tampering.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a plastic lid for a pail having a peripheral rim, said lid having a substantially planar central section integrally formed with a peripheral channel section, said channel section adapted to fit over the rim of the pail to effect closure of the pail,
said channel section comprising an edge section that extends exterior to the pail around the periphery of said lid, one section of the edge section forming a hinge section and the remainder of said edge section having a first section, a second section and a third section, each of said first, second and third section extending peripherally around the edge section of the lid, said second section being intermediate said first and third sections and integrally formed with said first and third sections, said second section being tearable from the first and third sections,
said hinge section being integral with said first section and having a portion of reduced thickness juxtaposed to said rim,
said central section, channel and first section of the lid being rotatable about said portion of reduced thickness after tearing of said second section from said first and third sections, thereby to effect opening of the lid.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a plastic lid for a pail having a peripheral rim, said lid comprising an edge section that fits over said rim, a portion of said edge section being a hinge integrally moulded therein and forming part of said lid, said portion of the edge section other than said hinge having a removable tamper-evident tear strip, said lid being openable by rotation about said hinge after removal of the tear strip.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a pail and lid, said pail having a peripheral rim, said lid having a substantially planar central section integrally formed with a peripheral channel section, said channel section adapted to fit over the rim of the pail to effect closure of the pail,
said channel section of the lid comprising an edge section that extends exterior to the pail around the periphery of said lid, one section of the edge section forming a hinge section and the remainder of said edge section having a first section, a second section and a third section, each of said first, second and third section extending peripherally around the edge section of the lid, said second section being intermediate said first and third sections and integrally formed with said first and third sections, said second section being tearable from the first and third sections,
said hinge section being integral with said first section and having a portion of reduced thickness juxtaposed to said rim,
said central section, channel and first section of the lid being rotatable about said portion of reduced thickness after tearing of said second section from said first and third sections, thereby to effect opening of the lid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a plastic lid for a pail having a peripheral rim, said lid having a substantially planar central section integrally formed with a peripheral channel section, said channel section adapted to fit over the rim of the pail to effect closure of the pail,
said channel section comprising an edge section that extends exterior to the pail around the periphery of said lid, one section of the edge section forming a hinge section and the remainder of said edge section having a first section and a second section, each of said first and second section extending peripherally around the edge section of the lid, said second section being distal to the periphery and integrally formed with said first section, said second section being tearable from the first section,
said hinge section having a portion of reduced thickness juxtaposed to said rim,
said central section, channel and first section of the lid being rotatable about said portion of reduced thickness after tearing of said second section from said first section, thereby to effect opening of the lid.
In a preferred embodiment, said hinge section has means to lock the lid onto a pail.
In a still further aspect, the present invention provides a plastic lid for a pail having a peripheral rim, said lid having a substantially planar central section integrally formed with a peripheral channel section, said channel section adapted to fit over the rim of the pail to effect closure of the pail,
said channel section comprising an edge section that extends exterior to the pail around the periphery of said lid, said edge section having a first section, a second section and a third section, each of said first, second and third section extending peripherally around the edge section of the lid, said second section being intermediate said first and third sections and integrally formed with said first and third sections, said second section being tearable from the first and third sections, thereby to effect opening of the lid.